1. Who was Queen of England during the time Shakespeare began to write? Who ruled after her?

Queen Elizabethan, King James

2. Give the approximate dates of the Elizabethan period.
1558-1603

3. Identify the social classes during Shakespeare's time.
The Nobility- The nobles are the lords and ladies of the land.
2. The Gentry- knights, squires, gentlemen, and gentlewomen were the gentry. They didn’t work with their hands. Lived like nobles.

Clergy- People of the church. Priests, Monks etc.

Kings- Top of the social class.

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Peasants- Very low class. Had to pay rent to the landowners because they lived there. Worked for the nobility.

Copy holders- Payed rent, could be kicked out at anytime.

Yeomen- Extremely low class

4. Describe the status of women. How would a young woman respond to a request from her father?
Women had very limited status and rights. They had very little power of the direction of their life. They didn’t receive education and couldn’t hold office either. The Father of the household ruled over the women in the household. The girls had to do whatever the father requested. They had to marry whoever they were told to, and couldn’t go to school. Nowadays we don’t have to always agree with our fathers, and kids will disobey. Then that would never happen because women were of such a lower social class and submissive to men because they had no choice. If you were a noble women you could do a lot more. You could get an education. If women played instruments, their status was higher.

5. What is primogeniture?
It is the right by law stating that the first born especially the son, he would receive most of the parents belongings. will inherit the estate, excluding the younger siblings.

6. What was the Bubonic Plague and how did it affect society during Shakespeare's time?

It is a deadly disease that occurred during Shakespeare time. It kills 2 out of every 3 humans in four days of being infected with the bubonic plague. Swollen Lymph nodes is the worst symptom. It was originally brought from Europe. Its an infection that enters through the skin and travels through the lymphatics. It is carried by fleas, and then the fleas would go on rats, and the rats would go on the ship and wherever the ship landed, so would the rats with the fleas.












7. Explain these aspects of Elizabethan life:
- Food: The diets of people in the Elizabethan Age were not balanced. The rich wouldn’t eat any fresh fruit or vegetables. The poor were the people that ate the fruit and vegetables. Everything that came out of the ground was deemed bad and only for poor people. Dairy was also deemed not worthy of the rich, so it was also only eaten by the poor.
-Socialization: Many people did not socialize much. They looked forward to holidays when they would have a break from hard work and when they could have time to meet with friends after church on Sundays or when they would go to the theatre.

- City Life, Hygiene, Crime: City Life was very cramped. It was much like todays London. Busy, cramped and somewhat dirty. There was no drainage so all sewage and trash was dumped out of windows leaving a horrible stench through out the major cities. Over all city life was not ideal. Hygiene in the Elizabethan Era was not something that was important. It was fairly hard to take baths in those times. It called for heating up the water over a fire and then sitting uncomfortable in what some would call a wooden bucket. So the poor would only bathe a few times each year. The rich however would bathe once every couple of weeks. When they did takes bathes it was often in very dirty water anyways, because they did not have filters. The water they bathed in would be considered unfit to drink. Crime in the Elizabethan Age was very common. Crimes such as Spying, Murder, Witchcraft and Treason were all common. The punishment of these crimes depended on the class you were in. If you were lower class then your punishment was generally more harsh and painful. But if you were a member of the upper class then your punishment would not be very harsh at all and you might even get away with not being punished at all.
-Homes: Homes in the Elizabethan Age were built in the common half timber, black and white style. Inside there would be separate rooms and levels. Almost all floors were wooden with the exception of the very wealthy who had slate or marble floors. There was no running water and heat was produced by firs throughout the house. Lighting would have been by candles or torches and the roofs were often infested with rats and mice.
-Clothing: Clothing in the Elizabethan Age was either very simple for the poor or very intricate and expensive for the rich. Women’s clothing would be comprised of tights, hoop skirts, peticoats, gowns, cloaks, shoes and hats. Men’s clothing would be comprised of shirt, stockings, breeches, separate sleeves, belts, a ruff, cloaks, shoes and hats.

By Sydney Smith ( questions 1-6), Annie R.S. ( Question 7)

School Violence

This article by John Whitehead surprised me. There was a lot of information that was shocking. For example, in the year 2000 25% of teens were involved with weapons, 70% admitted cheating on a test and 15% said they showed up for class drunk. This makes me think about South Portland High School and what might be going on that we can't see. In every school there are kids that do drugs and make bad decisions. But all of the kids in these shootings were described as white males who were bullied and might have used drugs. When i look around the school everyday i see many kids like that and it's horrifying to think one day they might come to school and pull out a gun. I think that adults and kids can both help kids who are bullied by just being more aware of what is going on around them. If an adult or kid sees someone being bullied then they should do something about it. Letting someone be harassed and hurt in school, which is supposedly a safe environment, is not acceptable. I know that it takes a lot of courage to stand up for someone, especially when you're a kid. All kids think about these days is how they can fit in with the crowd, how they can be popular or even just "normal". Standing up for someone would definitely be put on the "uncool" list and therefor diminish all the work you had done to get yourself accepted. That's why i feel many kids decide not to stand up for people even when they know it's the right thing to do. I don't completely understand why adults who see bullying don't stop it. It seems like there is always a "no bullying" campaign, and it doesn't make sense that the adults would be trying to better the school and then not do anything about the bullying that they are trying to prevent.

I think that the suspect should definitely be tried as an adult. This was a horrible crime he committed and it shouldn't be taken lightly. I think that if he isn' tried as an adult and isn't punished too harshly then that makes other kids that might be planning a school shooting think that it's ok and that it's not a big deal. He killed three people and injured two others, that is something that will never be forgotten or forgiven. He didn't even pick out the victims, he shot randomly. That shows that he shot innocent kids and that should be something he is severely punished for.

I think that the suspects home life or school life does not influence the situation or my opinion at all. He still shot innocent people. If he had a bad home life or was bullied then that's too bad. I don't think it was right he had a bad home life or was bullied but he still had no right or reason, in a sane persons mind, to shoot innocent kids. He obviously felt there was no other choice but that doesn't make it ok. Killing other people is not the way out of your personal problems.